All Arround MTB

These lightweight, side-specific pads are great if you’re looking for a little extra protection when hooning about on your trail bike. While the elasticated openings feel tight when you first slip the Missions on, their position means they never feel uncomfortable or restrictive when riding. The stretchy mesh sleeve doesn’t get too hot either, and hugs your arm tightly to ensure the EVA foam padding stays put. While the padding itself looks a little flat and shapeless, well-positioned creases cut into the foam ensure the pad articulates with your arm. Coverage is decent too, with the padding starting just above the elbow and running to halfway down the forearm. As the Missions are thin, we’ve had no issues slipping them under jerseys or baselayers. They’re also light enough to stow in your pack. A more subtle black version would be nice, though. Price $75

Scott consistently produce well-designed kit and the Trail MTN doesn’t disappoint, even though it’s not bike-specific. If you’re tall you’ll appreciate the long sleeves and extra body length, which, combined with the roomy (but not baggy) fit, make it supremely comfortable. The lightweight waterproof and windproof fabric has a high degree of stretch and is very warm but breathes well too – we never felt like we were in danger of overheating. The generous peaked hood goes over a helmet but is so well shaped it moves with your head and doesn’t obscure your vision. Other details include underarm perforations, welded seams, zipped hand-warmer pockets and usefully long zip-pulls. The Trail MTN Dryo 30 isn’t cheap but the quality and comfort make it worth the investment. Weight 406g Price $255

If you don’t like the retro look, these come in less seizure-inducing colours too. The field of view is the best on test, with nothing to distract you on the trail. We liked the fit and comfort – there’s plush foam and a generous nose groove. A deep strap and wide outriggers hold the goggles neatly in place on full-face helmets, though the frame is too bulky to fit snugly under some open-face lids. Tinted and clear lenses are included. Both have proven impressively scratch resistant and generally stay fog-free. Replacement lenses aren’t easy to come by online and are pricey ($34 standard, $41 light sensitive). Price $112

Scott consistently offer good waterproof jackets with the sort of bike-specific details that make a difference. All of the Dryo 20’s features are well executed. The chest pockets are generously deep and one has an additional zipped inner pocket. Vents are extra-long and work so much better for it. The hood fits over a helmet easily and, with a stretch inner plus drawcord for tweaking the volume, it’s barely noticeable when in place and causes no loss of peripheral vision. Scott’s ‘DRYOsphere’ three-layer fabric is smooth with a durable feel and, combined with a relatively relaxed cut, allows for easy layering up. In terms of durability and functionality, if your budget allows it, the Dryo 20 should be a contender – it’s a highly-specified jacket with very good protection for long days out. Weight 407g Price $330

If you’re not a massive fan of the bulky look of Five Tens and can look past the mustard-yellow colour of the Scott FR 10s (they do come in a more subtle blue too) they’re worth checking out, especially if you prefer to play in the woods rather than hammer out the miles. While they’re comfy enough to wear as sturdy everyday trainers, with enough flex to prevent heel slip when wandering around, they work well on the bike too. Traction on the pedals doesn’t come close to that of Five Ten’s benchmark ‘Stealth’ rubber, so if you like to feel glued to the pins you may want to look elsewhere. But if you’re into riding dirt jumps, pump tracks or simply razzing about in the woods and like to be able to readjust your feet on the pedals, the FR 10s should be right up your street, allowing more on-the-pedal movement while still providing just enough grip when it matters. This does make them rather specific shoes, though. They’re not ideal for big days on the trail or tackling particularly bum

We’ve long been fans of Scott’s Grenade pads and the improvements made to the latest ‘Evo’ version mean that’s not likely to change any time soon. A heavily-formed, reassuringly-thick D3O cup covers your knee and the surrounding area, while chunky foam inserts are dotted above and on either side for extra protection. Possibly our favourite thing about the Grenade Evos is the strap placement. While the upper Velcro strap runs just below the top opening – nothing out of the ordinary there – the lower one is designed to hook up and over your calf muscle. This means the pads stay in place without you having to crank the straps up particularly tight. Even though they’re fairly heavy duty, you can still pedal in them with no discomfort, thanks in part to the airy mesh back panel. While the Grenade Evos are a touch slimmer than their predecessors, they’re still on the bulky side, which won’t suit everyone. Price $120

These have been designed to take a bit more abuse than most trail shorts and to provide a little extra leg length too. While the inseam measures 14in, the additional 1.5in provided by the curved end to the legs means there’s no fear of showing any skin above your pads when pedalling. Made from a durable four-way stretch material, they’re comfy next to the skin and lightweight enough for all-day epics. A DWR treatment means they’ll shrug off showers, but will still get soaked in a downpour. The relaxed fit is great, with no excess fabric and some well-considered tailoring ensuring that they’re incredibly comfy to pedal in. Velcro waist tabs mean there’s no need for the belt loops. The two mesh-lined pockets are too far down the leg for stowing anything heavy, but the inner phone pocket is handy. While the price is high, it includes Scott’s highly-regarded liner, which breathes well and has a comfy pad. Price $157

Scott’s top-end aggressive trail helmet is only available with MIPS, as the Swiss brand were early adopters of the system. The EPS extends low at the rear without clashing with the retention system and the strap attachment points are external to the liner, maximising the amount of material around the temples. This is the closest-fitting helmet on test, with very little clearance inside the liner. Despite this, and although the Stego has fewer vents than some other lids here, we never felt too hot-headed. Scott spent time developing the ventilation system using a wind tunnel and it seems to have paid off. The thin pads don’t offer quite as much comfort as some competitors’, and while the short peak is removable, it doesn’t offer any height adjustment. Weight 340g Sizing S, M, L Price $180

We love a good lightweight windproof for our unpredictable British summertime, and this offering from Scott delivers the goods. Made from a 100 per cent Polyamide fabric, with Scott’s own DRYOzone water-repellent coating, the WB 40 does a sterling job of keeping you dry in lighter showers, although water does seep through at the shoulders in heavier rain when wearing a pack. The athletic cut still allows room underneath for layering and movement feels unrestricted. Sleeve and body length are good too, keeping you well covered at all times. The WB 40 is pretty minimalist in terms of features, with just one zipped rear pocket. You can fold the jacket into this for stowage and it’s handy for carrying small, light items, but anything weighty soon pulls the jacket out of shape. The cuffs are elasticated, as is the hood, which has a pull cord for adjustment, but isn’t big enough to wear over your helmet. Styling is on-trend and we love the subtle logo and reflective details. It’s costly,

Some ‘pedalling friendly’ slip-on pads offer very little in the way of protection and are prone to sliding down, but this doesn’t look to be the case with the Soldier IIs. A D3O knee cap – which is soft when pedalling but hardens upon impact – and EVA padding on the sides should keep your knees intact, while the elasticated sleeve with silicone print lining ought to keep them where they need to be. Mesh material is used where possible to improve breathability, and an abrasion-resistant fabric on the front should mean they’ll withstand a few encounters with the floor. Price $82

You’d expect a lot of goggle for just shy of $105, and thankfully that’s what you get with the Prospects. Both tinted and clear lenses are included, and Scott’s ‘Lens Lock System’ mean it’s easy enough to pop and lock whichever lens suits the conditions in a matter of seconds. The deep strap (we’re talking around 10mm more than most other goggles here) gets two strips of silicone on the inside, which helps to keep it secure around your lid, while the three-layer face foam ensures they’re some of the comfiest goggles around. On the hill, the massive lens offers a wide and deep field of vision with nothing poking into your peripheral view to distract you. Even on warmer days we had little issue with the lens fogging up. After numerous cleaning sessions out on the trails, the clear lens remains scratch free and still polishes up like new once all the mud is removed. Price $105

The downhill race bike that spends more time airborne and flying sideways than any other

We’ve been fans of Scott’s riding gear for a long time so it was something of a disappointment that we didn’t warm to these shorts. The Trail Flows are made from an incredibly lightweight fabric.

SO GOOD… The Hustles are arguably the comfiest goggles in this test, thanks in part to the flexible frame and super-soft three-layer face foam.

THE EXPLORAIR COMBINES Gore Windstopper where you need it most – over the sleeves, through the front and hood – with a lighter stretch material on the back and the underside of the sleeves.

SCOTT’S SOLDIER KNEE pads are sleek, strapless affairs targeted at all-day trail riding. There’s silicone gripper on the inside of the top and bottom openings to help keep them in place, and a pliable front knee guard and additional foam side protectors to ward off the knocks.

Scott were one of the first big brands to get behind plus bikes. We were hoping to test the Genius Plus, in XL. But it was unavailable, so instead we went for its bigger brother, the Genius Plus LT, in large (the biggest size Scott make). With 160mm of travel and a 66-degree head angle, it’s designed to be an enduro-ready rig with – hopefully – the added benefits of 2.8in tyres.

SCOTT ARE ANOTHER brand getting into the enhanced protection world of MIPS. Crucially, they’ve done so without obviously compromising other performance aspects like breathability and ventilation, which has cemented the Stego’s winner status. Large holes in the yellow MIPS liner mean there’s no compromise in airflow through the big front, side and rear vents. The liner sits over broad internal channels too, so the wind whistles over your scalp when you get up to speed. Minimal padding means no lingering sogginess if you get sweaty on the way back up.

The Scale 950 uses the now traditional-for-cross-country 29er wheels to excellent effect, with a fast but fun character that's happy racing or railing.

We continue to swap over our different wheel sized sparing partners and returning to the 750 from a lap on the Scale 950, immediately, the smaller wheel and thus smaller fork means there's extra stiffness up front. It's still not as stiff as we'd like, a bolt-thru axle here would still be appreciated, but hitting the first few berms is more accurate and thus a touch faster.